Lorne Michaels gifts his Saturday Night Live archives to the UT Austin, offering researchers and fans unprecedented access to the show's history.

Live” creator Lorne Michaels has donated his career archive to the Harry Ransom Center cultural archive at the University of Texas

The Harry Ransom Center at UT Austin announced Wednesday it has acquired the archive of the "Saturday Night Live" creator. The acquisition includes correspondence, scripts and photos from Michaels's teenage years through his storied career.

Michaels, the creator of “Saturday Night Live,” has donated his papers to the university’s Harry Ransom Center.

Collection features "rehearsal notes and sketches to annotated scripts and personal correspondence" and provides behind-the-scenes history of SNL

Live" celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and Michaels' collection includes materials from across the show's history.

Shelley Duvall, from left, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Lorne Michaels and Laraine Newman pose backstage at "Saturday Night Live" in 1977. The image is among the items in the Lorne Michaels Collection, an archive the series creator has donated to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

This year "Saturday Night Live" is celebrating its 50th anniversary and now the University of Texas at Austin will play a part in that TV history. The iconic show's creator and executive producer, Lorne Michaels,

Live” creator Lorne Michaels has donated his career archive to the Harry Ransom Center cultural archive at the University of Texas.

Calling all SNL fans and comedy buffs! Lorne Michaels and SNL history are at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin. Explore sketches, rehearsal notes, and personal correspondence in an exhibit celebrating the making of this comedy legend.

Lorne Michaels has donated a collection of his work on Saturday Night Live and more to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas.